


Just Elijah

by Ink_Gypsy



Category: LOTR RPS
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-28
Updated: 2010-02-28
Packaged: 2017-10-07 14:56:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/66241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_Gypsy/pseuds/Ink_Gypsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elijah tries hard to please everyone, but with Sean he can be himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just Elijah

**Author's Note:**

> This is the companion piece to _Safe Harbor_.

He thinks he has to be _on_ all the time, at least all the time he's in public. And he's a master at it. Open, honest, immediately putting strangers at ease, always interested in whatever the person he's talking with has to say, no matter who it is.

It may seem effortless to those who know him only slightly, but I know the strain he's under almost constantly. I've seen what being all things to all people costs him, seen it take him from 60 to zero in ten seconds flat. Total shutdown.

We'll be at some press thing, on opposite sides of a crowded room, and he'll give me _The Look_, our own private semaphore. Without apologizing for my rudeness, I'll leave the discussion, the table and whomever I'm with, and find a quiet spot for us away from everyone. He'll follow, and when he reaches me, I'll open my arms and he'll rush into them. Silently, he'll turn his face into my shoulder, his body trembling uncontrollably. I'll hold him, using my body to shield him from prying eyes. I'll stroke his back and whisper calming words into his ear until his panic subsides and he's ready to go back and face the world again. I can't protect him indefinitely, but if I could, I'd hold the world at bay and keep him safe in my arms forever.

He thinks he needs to be perfect. For his family. For Peter. For the studio. For the press. For the fans.

He knows he doesn't need to be perfect for me. All he needs to be is Elijah.


End file.
